whats features mean the most to you in flashlights?

[raggie33]

me i want the light to be as small as it can for the battery it uses like the lumitop fwaa. and i want it to be very efficient i want the most lumens per watt

 

[3_gun]

Runtime & a user friendly UI

 

[ledbetter]

The flashlight has to have the name MALKOFF written on the side of it!

 

[brachypelma44]

1) An easy to understand UI
2) Normal size cells must fit (NO proprietary batteries)
3) Must be able to tail stand

 

[Megalamuffin]

Simplicity in operation, durability, good color rendering with a pleasant tint, and decent brightness to runtime ratio.

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

That it works when needed without failure or dimming for the duration of the task. That means decent runtime, decent efficiency l.e.d.s, drop proof, waterproof, works in the heat or cold, it's properly regulated, not loaded with alkaleak batteries, and bright enough for the task without rapidly dimming. The most important feature is reliability.

 

[experimentjon]

1. Design / Aesthetics - at this point, most single cell EDC lights have hit parity in objective performance characteristics, so most of the pleasure in collecting / using really comes from having lights that are just "cool".

2. UI - After many years, straying from HDS to go to simple 2 mode lights, then back to the 3S engines, then eventually discovering H17Fs, and Guppy3Drv, and others, I've realized that the UI matters a ton. It's different UIs for different purposes, but the HDS rotary might be at the top of the pile here.

3. Pocket clip - unfortunately, I end up not carrying lights that don't have pocket clips. They stay on desks and in bags. But I love a good pocket clip.

 

[chillinn]

1) constant current circuit
2) single emitter with decent color rendition, color temperature & tint
3) regulation, for constant brightness
4) cell chemistry compatibility, best if chemistry agnostic
5) forward clicky or momentary twisty
6) sublumen mode(s)
7) body with threads exposed screws into head, not the other way around
8) sturdy pocket clip, deep carry preferred

 

[fulee9999]

1, Reliable, easy to operate
I need to know if I press the big button the light will come on, and it will be at the level what I wanted
2, Sturdy clip
No sheats or pocket carry for me

+1, High CRI with high R9
I like my reds red, thank you

Also I like my runtime graphs fairly flat, I don't need 20k lumens for 5 seconds then 200 lumen for hours...

 

[bykfixer]

Push button, comes out.

Bonus, drop friendly.
Added bonus, dunk friendly

 

[Dave_H]

Depends on the light and usage. I kept a 2AAA LED penlight in my top pocket in earlier job, which served well for several years of electronics debug and general usage. Lightweight/small, low cost, good beam for usage (close up), no silly modes to click through, not undepowered e.g. powered by coin or button cells.

I started using a different 2AAA penlight which is brighter (sometimes too bright, and eats batteries) but no lower mode(s); unfortunately not working well possibly due to some drops on hard surfaces: so durability matters. Good thing it cost under $5.

Dave

 

[Dave_H]

Push button, comes out.

Bonus, drop friendly.
Added bonus, dunk friendly

Have to laugh. I took head off the penlight I just mentioned to show a friend in a restaurant. He accidentally dropped it into a glass of water. Fortunately not Coke or something else, dried it off and was OK.

Dave

 

[Repsol600rr]

1. Size. 16340/18350 or AA/14500 is about the max I carry. Even small 18650 zebralights were just too much.
2. Good clip. If it doesn't have a clip that retains well and is reasonably deep then it simply won't be carried.
3.UI. I like 1 click for a decent amount of light to come out. Preferably a medium mode somewhere between say 40-60 lumens or so. Quick access to higher and lower modes. Moonlight easily accessible.
4. Common cell format. Not proprietary batteries.
5. Durability. Drop it, submerge it, it keeps working.
Bonus. Easy built in charging. Micro USB or USBc that works with a variety of cables.
Big bonus. Good tint and CRI. I love my zebralight tints. The wowtac is cool white but a clean cool white and is fine.

I buy lights without these things for other purposes but the light that is on you when you need it is the light that is best, and these are the features I look for in lights I will carry daily that will be the most likely to fill 95% of my lighting needs.

Lights I have that qualify and I have gravitated to for carry over the years through various trials are the Zebralight sc52d, sc52w, sc53c, wowtac w1. I also have used and carried extensively a thrunite t1 and olight s1r turbo S. But they did fall short due to UI(ramping) in the thrunite and proprietary battery in the olight. These days it's the wowtac w1 primarily for day to day and the zebralight sc53c for trips I know I will need the low low Moonlight where the wowtac Moonlight is simply too bright.

 

[Monocrom]

Reliability, output, and a drop-dead simple U.I.

 

[Jean-Luc Descarte]

Good ingress protection, solid drop resistance, OFF-time mode memory, common non-proprietary batteries, halfway decent tint at the minimum, zero or minimal parasitic drain, soft switch, and most of all, BIG runtimes.

 

[flashflood]

Dead-simple UI. I will never, ever buy an Anduril flashlight. It's not enough that the most common mode group be simple: the other mode groups must not exist. Even just knowing that they're there is stressful and offensive. If I give a light to a toddler, it should not come back ten minutes later in some kind of Linux debug shell. Just stop it.

My favorite UI, which seems to be getting more common, is this:

(1) normal modes are low / med / high, and there's also moonlight and turbo

(2) single click for on/off, with normal mode memory (previous low/med/high)

(3) while off, press-and-hold for moonlight

(4) while on, press-and-hold to cycle through normal modes (low/med/high)

(5) whether on or off, double-click for turbo

And that's it. (If you want to add triple-click for SOS or strobe, fine.)

 

[Olumin]

Interface & output regulation.
They all make light, I can adapt to everything else.

 

[Vimespolly]

Preaching to the choir here it's the reason I love my 4 mode convoys over my Hank lights.